


check yes, hyunjin

by sungshinelog



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2007, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Band Fic, Drama, Emo, I'm Sorry, M/M, Oops, Punk, Scene Kids, Seo Changbin Being an Asshole, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Tsunderes, ateez and stray kids best friends??, colorful punk rock princess, emo changbin, lol naw ignore that last one, myspace - Freeform, preppy hyunjin, questionable dynamics, the scene, these tags are downright awful, wordart times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29211267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sungshinelog/pseuds/sungshinelog
Summary: "They think they're famous just because their myspace page has one thousand people following it. All they are is some no name wannabes who wanna make it big in music." Minho's brows furrowed and he shook his head. "I take that back, they do have a name: Who Takes the Crown. Pretty stupid if you ask me."( or Hyunjin is intrigued by the scene kids— more specifcally Changbin )
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. run baby run, don't ever look back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another story ? Already ?
> 
> I know !! I've been on a writing grind for the last month and finally got down to writing what I hope will be my next big project lol. This story had been about a year(-ish?) in the making, ever since I revisited my scene phase and started thinking back to high school and I'm just not gonna mention when I last went to high school because YIKES !
> 
> So yes this story is centered around high school and I thought those days were long behind me, but I figured I'd let some memories resurface to be authenticate this story. I will say a lot of what I'm writing about I didn't personally experience, but I heard the stories and maybe I lowkey wished I was more of a party animal so now at the prime age of life I wouldn't be so scared to call my dentist (HA).
> 
> I'm not sure how long I'll be making this story, but it WILL BE chaptered and I plan on adding a playlist along the way because how am I not going to share all the songs that remind me of my emo youth (bangs and all). You'll notice most of the chapter titles will correlate with a song that I listened to while writing each chapter and yeah I'm real hype hehe.
> 
> So enough ranting, let's get right in, shall we...

Hyunjin was panicking.

Why? Because it was midnight on _a school night_ and he was currently trapped in a crowd of people when all he'd wanted was a midnight drive, maybe a stolen beer from the corner store. Served him right for thinking Jisung would be anything but the go-big-or-go-home type of guy.

"I don't think we should be doing this." Seungmin had said from the window, watching as Hyunjin and Jisung scuttled to the ground below. Yes, it had hurt and Hyunjin was sure there would be bruises on his hands tomorrow, but the promise of a late night adventure had made him forget the pain.

"C'mon, what happened to having fun!" Jisung had whisper-shouted, beckoning the boy down. "You were the one that said you weren't having any." Seungmin crossed his arms.

"Yeah because all you guys wanted to talk about were stupid things like boys and crushes and blah, blah, blah." He pointed a finger accusingly at Jisung. "You said we would study!"

"We were studying," Hyunjin countered, stupid grin plastered all over his face. "Studying boys." Jisung burst into laughter, startling the neighbors cat and causing a ruckus that caused a mild panic between the three boys.

When it fell silent, Hyunjin could breathe again. "Just this once Seungmin! Let's live a little." Hyunjin knew this could go one of two ways. Seungmin would shake his head and close the window on them and ignore him for a few days (maybe even the rest of high school). Or, he'd surprise them both and hop down like Hyunjin and Jisung had done.

"Fine, but I'm using the back door." A third option. Well, that could work too.

It took a little longer, but then Seungmin was out there with them and Jisung was tugging them toward his borrowed car.

"Where are we even going?" He'd asked, still not fully on board as much as Hyunjin had been. Jisung smirked, pretending to zip his lips before turning back around. "You suck."

"Only if they're cute." That got Hyunjin laughing again, laughter carrying through the cul-de-sac Seungmin lived in and giving the poor boy a heart attack.

"Sh, don't wake the neighbors! It's bad enough I'm out here this late."

"Oh, does baby have a bed time?" Jisung pinched Seungmin's cheeks, which Seungmin very pointedly disliked. He growled. "Fiesty."

"Shut it. Let's just get this over with."

For as much talk as Jisung gave, they spent a good hour just driving through the quiet neighborhood, sometimes pointing out the houses of people they knew. "How is this any better than what we were doing before?" Seungmin butt in, but Jisung ignored him, asking him to _shut it._

Jisung turned the corner, a mad house coming into view. Thrumming music played, loud enough to be heard from the outside. The Christmas lights they'd hung up flashed back and forth between colors, attention grabbing in the otherwise quiet street. "Is that a—"

"Party!" Jisung exclaimed, parking the car on the curb. "Let's crash it!" Hyunjin grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him from fully turning off the car.

"Are you crazy? We can't do that."

"What, why not?" Seungmin and Hyunjin shared a look.

"That's Christopher Bang's house." Seungmin supplied, Jisung still looking just as confused. "The senior." Jisung waved him off.

"So what? It's a house party. We don't need an invite." The house looked daunting closer up, people spilling out into the lawn. "Live a little, won't ya." The car shut off and Jisung hopped out, jogging up to the very _open_ doorway before peeking inside. Hyunjin and Seungmin right behind him.

The inside of the house was packed with teenagers, all piled into every corner. Girls were sitting on boys' laps, their colorful hair bouncing as they giggled and drank from red Solo cups. Some were sat in circles, a bottle between them and their shrill laugher made it to Hyunjin's ears as his eyes moved forward. It looked chaotic and Hyunjin wanted to turn back around, but JIsung was already dragging him and Seungmin in.

"Here." They were handed drinks. "Rock on, dudes!" Hyunjin took one whiff and gagged. Seungmin took the drink from his hands.

"Don't, God knows what they put in there." Jisung did not share their sentiment, chugging the weird mix down in one go.

"That was good, let's find more." While he and Seungmin argued over drink choices, Hyunjin faced away from them, shying away from the oncoming stampede of girls whose sheer screams scared the hell out of him. He followed their movement, noticing more and more people rushing past, squeezing through to the common room. He may be tall, but not nearly tall enough to see over the crowd that had suddenly doubled.

Just as the crowd started to settle, the lights dimmed and the uproar started again, Hyunjin feeling like the ground was shaking underneath him. The first strum from an electric guitar reached his ears and then the booming bass hit, drums not far behind. The girls in front of him were squealing, head bopping to the beat while the singer started his song. 

It was melodic, a sound he'd never heard before and he tried to peer over the tops of the heads before him to no avail. He scanned the area, finding some chairs off to the side. His mother had always warned him that climbing on things not meant to be climbed on was dangerous, but screw that! He needed to see what the fuss was about. 

That said, the shakiness he felt just resting his knees on the chair made him skeptical and he stayed there, realizing even like that he was at a greater advantage. He might look stupid, but at least now he could see what everyone else did.

There was four of them. Set up on a makeshift stage, hardly a foot off the ground. The one singing, the one on the drums, the one on bass, and the one on electric guitar. His eyes started with the singer, noting the chunk of white hair as it swept over his eyes. He was moving fluidly, pulling you forward with a voice so sweet, Hyunjin saw some of the people in front swoon. The singer moved to the left, where the bassist was, reaching a hand out for him. Hyunjin followed the movement, watching as the other leaned in, sly smile on his face the only thing visible since his long black bangs covered his eyes. He carried over to the drummer, noticing the streaks of pink in his otherwise strawberry blond hair, little clips dangling as his hair bounced.

Last was the guitarist, hair black and shiny like velvet and longer in the back. He had piercings, Hyunjin realized, not only in his ears, but on his nose, that caught in the light making him all the more dazzling. Hyunjin couldn't take his eyes off of him, not even when the song ended, watching as he broke out into a smile. Their eyes met over the crowd and Hyunjin startled, toppling over into the ever growing sea of people. Most of them groaned at his added weight, pushing him away and Hyunjin fought to stay balanced.

There was so many more people now, enough for Hyunjin to worry and he almost didn't know what to do until he heard Seungmin's yelling over the buzz of the crowd. "Hyunjin!"

"Over here!" he called, getting swallowed by the uproar as a new song began. Luckily, Seungmin found him anyway.

"There you are! We've been looking for you!" He pulled him by the arm, helping him out of the mosh pit and into a less populated room. "Do you know how scared we were when we turned around and you weren't there?!"

"Speak for yourself. I told him you were probably out there enjoying yourself instead of being a worrywart."

"At least I worried! What would have happened if that wasn't the case? Hm, if someone stole Hyunjin away and drugged him and—"

"God, you read too much true crime. Give it a rest!" Jisung threw his arm around the taller. "Tell us Hyunjin, what'd you get up to without us?" Hyunjin faltered, a red blooming over his cheeks as he thought about brown eyes. "What's that look about? Tell us!"

"Quit it! He's probably embarrassed he got lost in the crowd." Seungmin interrupted. He checked his watch with wide eyes. "We need to get back, it's already one." They shuffled back out, avoiding the latecomers that burst through the door as they slipped through.

Somehow, they managed to get back before Seungmin's mother barged through the door the next morning, reminding them that school was still _a thing._ Hyunjin sat up in a huff. Seungmin whined as he covered his ears. Jisung was the worst out of the three, barely missing a mailbox as he drove them to school.

"You act like it's a bad thing."

"It was!" Hyunjin and Seungmin shouted simultaneously.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened as the day dragged on, not that Hyunjin expected it to, but last night's party scene made him think differently of those around him. Of the people he'd seen there, more specifically brown eyes and long hair and he tried hard not to let his mind wander. The guy probably forgot all about him, that's if he even remembered him. Two seconds of eye contact could hardly be considered memorable, and yet he was all Hyunjin could think about.

Sometime before lunch, Jisung's mother had called him to remind him that she needed the car in the afternoon. Jisung enlisted the help of his older friend slash crush Minho to help sneak him off campus and also drive him back when he left the car. On the drive back, Minho had invited the boy to the arcade and Jisung was so graciously extending that invitation to Seungmin and Hyunjin.

Seungmin outright denied him, in favor of studying— _which you two should also be doing because finals are in less than a month!_ Jisung ignored him, turning toward Hyunjin. "Well?" Hyunjin knew Jisung liked Minho and as his best friend, he should be there for moral support. Even if that made him a third wheel.

He sat in the back seat of Minho's car, watching his friend fumble for words like never before. It was kind of fun watching someone get under his skin, Jisung usually too bold for his own good.

The arcade was packed with kids their own age, yelling and shouting at the best players while some of the more reserved kids, sat by the built in bowling alley. Minho directed them toward the back, where tables were wet up, offering to buy Jisung anything he wanted. "A milkshake— wait no, pizza— actually, can I just get a burger?" When he didn't blurt out another option, Minho disappeared to order.

"You're a hot mess."

"At least I'm hot." Hyunjin kicked him under the table.

When Minho came back, Hyunjin sat with his back to them— to give them _some_ privacy— watching some of his fellow classmates engage in air hockey. 

He watched as a girl came scurrying by, cellphone in hand and mindlessly squealing until she reached her friends. It wasn't like Hyunjin to eavesdrop, but the girl was just _so_ loud. "San just changed his profile picture!" She handed over her phone, her friends joining in her shrieking, Hyunjin wincing at the high decibals. "Their show last night was awesome!" Last night... could they be talking about— "The new song they played was sick!" They had to be! They had to be talking about the band he saw playing at the party.

He instinctively leaned closer, seeing if they would say anything else. "Changbin was looking at me the whole time." the girl who had walked up said, flipping her hair at her friends like she'd won at something.

"Uh, no he was looking at me. I thought you liked Yunho?" one of her friends said, crossing her arms with distaste.

"I did, but then I saw him flirting with a freshman last night, so tacky." The first girl rolled here eyes.

"So? You picked him first, I already called dibs on Changbin!" They looked two seconds away from tearing each other's hair out, but before they could, someone was draping their arms around their shoulders.

"Girls, _please!_ There's plenty of us to go around." Mismatched hair fell in his eyes and Hyunjin immediately recognized him as the singer.

"San!" they cheered, bubbly as ever to be in the presence of one of their many affections. Hyunjin saw the others trickling behind him, finding the guitarist to be the last one to enter. He dropped his gaze, momentarily stunned by his appearance at the arcade. "What are you doing here?"

"The boys needed a break. Band practice gets hard, you know?" The girls immediately offer their services, asking if they wanted any food or if they needed shoulder rubs. "Thanks, but no thanks. We're just gonna spend some quality time alone." He gave them a smile, one strong enough to make anyone accept his words and the girls nodded sadly. "See you at our next gig?"

"Always!" San started moving, closer to where Hyunjin was sitting and he ducked away, knowing well it was stupid of him but worrying he'd be caught staring. San passed him first, then the drummer, then the bassist and finally, it was the guitarist. The girls had mentioned other names when they were talking about them and he wondered if one of them was his name. He kept his head down until he was sure they'd all gone, only sneaking a glance when he heard them sitting down. 

Hyunjin continued to watch them, even if he couldn't hear their conversations anymore. He was sure Jiusng picked up on it, tuning into his and Minho's conversation to hear, "... are they?" Hyunjin jerked around in a panic. Minho took one look in the direction Jisung had pointed and scoffed.

"San and his wannabe punk band? They're losers. Don't waste your time on them." Hyunjin felt his face fall at his words, wondering how Minho would say such a thing. The girls from before seemed to adore them.

"What's so bad about them?" Jisung asked for him, like the good friend he was and Hyunjin sent him a grateful smile.

"They think they're famous just because their myspace page has one thousand people following it. All they are is some no name wannabes who wanna make it big in music." Minho's brows furrowed and he shook his head. "I take that back, they do have a name: Who Takes the Crown. Pretty stupid if you ask me." Hyunjin's eyes found the band again and he frowned at them. They seemed so _normal_ sitting in their booth, eating pizza and laughing like most friends did. Sure they had colored hair and even more colorful clothes, but they didn't seem all that bad from what he could tell.

His eyes flashed over to the guitarist, noticing him staring and Hyunjin forced himself to look away. He felt infinitely worse at being caught in his scrutiny, shame covering embarrassment.

Minho's words rung in his ears the whole car ride home.


	2. I wanna watch the way you take the stage by storm

Friday night rolled around. Hyunjin was focusing on his literature homework when a text brought him out of the dystopian world Bradbury created. He put the book he'd been flipping through down to pick up his cellphone.

_wyd?_

**_hw_ **

_b0ring!_

**_u wont say that tmrw when u copy my hw -.-_ **

_. . ._

_whatevs. minho invited me 2 a party 2nite, wanna come?_

The likelihood of him going was slim to none. His parents were still awake and it was already pretty late. No way could he escape now.

_heard WTC mite b there_

Hyunjin hovered over the keypad. Jisung had easily picked up on his infatuation with the band, even if he didn't know the real reason. Brown eyes and piercings. He frowned. He tried so hard not think about him after Minho told him not to, but Jisung seemed to throw caution to the wind. He clearly didn't head Minho's warning and indulged Hyunjin, often pointing them out when they saw them around school. Usually it was San, the most popular he came to find. Making girls giggle and guys scoff and he seemed unbothered by either reaction, simply asking them to come see their next gig. Hyunjin appreciated the guy's dedication, but it made him think of the other members and whether or not they put as much work as San seemed to be doing.

Logically, Hyunjin knew sneaking out now would get him grounded _so_ he told Jisung to wait an hour before coming to pick him up.

_c u l8r!_

Hyunjin almost went back to studying before he realized; he didn't know what to wear! Last party, he wasn't given the option. This time, he would dress like the rest. Frantic, he rummaged his closet, finding most of it to be pretty tasteless. Tacky t-shirts and jeans and he forgot how dirty his Converse were. He settled on a button down, feeling the most partylike before picking up his Converse again. They were ratty and dusty and he really needed a new pair, but it was the best he had. He slipped them on. 

He checked his watch to find that almost an hour had already passed and he quickly combed through his hair before tiptoeing down the stairs. His parents were easy enough to avoid once they'd gone off to their room and it seemed as was the case when he found the living room empty. He sighed in relief, short lived when he heard the refrigerator door close and he threw himself to the ground.

"Honey, have you seen my rash ointment?" _Gross._ Hyunjin waited for the light to click off and his father's footsteps up the stairs before he found his footing again.

Jisung called as soon as he was stepping outside. "Took you long enough!" His car was already parked by the curb, giving Hyunjin the impression that he'd been there for a while.

"Sorry, my Dad was in the kitchen." He ended the call right as he closed the car door. "Had to wait it out." Jisung looked to be sizing him up. "What?"

"Is this really what you're wearing?"

"Yes?" He glanced down at his ratty Converse again, blaming them for Jisung's wandering eyes.

"At least unbutton the top, so you don't look so... _preppy."_ He did as told, mostly because when saw what Jisung was wearing, he felt impossibly overdressed. A t-shirt over a long sleeve.

It was almost midnight by the time Jisung was pulling up to the address Minho had texted him. The house was just as tantalizing as the last time, if not more because Hyunjin had an actual reason to be there. He walked behind Jisung as they navigated the unruly crowd, trying to find where Minho was so they could at least blend in. This party was a lot rowdier than the last, more teenagers than space and Hyunjin held his nose when a foul stench reached his nose.

They made it out the back patio, the stench only getting worse and that's when Hyunjin saw what was causing it. _Cigarettes._ His mom would kill him if she knew.

"Jisung!" They both turned to see Minho waving at them, a fog of smoke clearing as they moved closer. "Glad you made it." He pulled the boy into his lap, leaving him flustered and Hyunjin wanted to gag. "Hyunjin." He gave him a head nod, which he mimicked, but then it was awkward and Hyunjin regretted accepting his friend's invite. 

"I'm going to get a drink." Not that they acknowledged him, Jisung and Minho too preoccupied with each other. He sauntered off in search of water, assuming that there was water and not just cheap beer to mooch off of.

He made it to the kitchen, eyeing the options and coming up dry. He thought about asking someone, but the thought of someone laughing in his face for wanting water killed his mood. He ventured into the common room, seeing a crowd starting to form.

Sure enough, when he noticed mics, he realized the band was getting ready to perform. He saw the drummer emerge then, carrying amps in each hand that he settled by the space they'd cleared out. The bassist was right after him, holding tangled cables and calling for someone. "Changbin! Come help me with this!" He expected the drummer to turn around, but instead the guitarist came up from behind, lugging a box onto the stage.

"I hate that San doesn't make you carry the heavy stuff."

"Perks of sleeping with the enemy." Changbin pulled the cables away from him hard, making the bassist stumble. The drummer held him steady, smacking their shoulders when they were both upright.

"You two need to stop fighting before every gig. It gets on my nerves."

"It's not fighting, Yunho. It's our friendship dynamic." Yunho seemed unimpressed.

"Whatever Wooyoung, go tune your bass or something." Wooyoung started back the way he came from, but not before Yunho shouted, "And no frotting in the van!" Wooyoung paused to send him the middle finger before he was out of sight.

Yuhno went back to setting up while Changbin dealt with the mess of cables, huffing when the cables stayed tangled. He threw them down. Then bent down to try again. Hyunjin wasn't really sure what came over him, but he found himself two steps away from Changbin, offering a hand. "Can I help?"

Changbin glanced up at him, then at Yunho— who shrugged in response— before meeting Hyunjin's eyes again. "Sure, kid. Have at it." Hyunjin bent down with him, easing the cables from the confines before presenting them to Changbin. "That was fast." he told him, taking the cables he'd untangled and plugging them into the mics. 

"Wanna help me with the drums?" Yunho asked, smiling wide and friendly. Hyunjin stepped over the wires to where the drummer was waiting expectantly. "Hold this here for me." He had his hands on the bigger of the drums, Hyunjin's replacing them as he moved away. Yunho went to grab a stool, setting it down behind him and testing the distance. "Push it a little closer." Hyunjin followed directions, moving the drum slightly until Yunho was stopping it with his own hand. "That's good enough. Thanks."

Yunho stepped off stage, Hyunjin standing dumbly where he'd been left. "Hold this." His hands reached for the wires Changbin was handing him without a second thought. The boy worked off of him, taking a few of the cables at a time until they were all set up. By now, Wooyoung had returned, guitar slung over his back as he spoke with San. San noticed Hyunjin, but otherwise ignored him as Yunho got him to help with one of the microphones. 

Eventually, there was nothing left for Hyunjin to do. San was adjusting his mic and Changbin was tuning his guitar. Not wanting to be a bother anymore, Hyunjin found an empty spot to his left, leaving the performers be until their set started.

The crowd had gotten bigger, Hyunjin realized. while he had been helping. He could barely see out of the room, dozens of giddy girls blocking the exit. He stayed put for the time being, flinching when the amps turned on and the feedback was striking his eardrums. "We are Who Takes the Crown!" San announced, everyone's attention on him in a second. "Hope you like the show." From where Hyunjin stood, he couldn't really see their faces, but he imagined San's cocky smile, having seen it about a million times over the two week period since he'd last seen them perform. 

The riff was loud next to him so backed up further, a clear view of Changbin at this angle. He hadn't noticed before, caught up in helping, but Changbin's hair was different. No longer dark like the night sky, but grey, like it was kissed by the stars. Hyunjin marveled at it, stunted as he watched them finish a song, then another. He was transfixed by his movements, his power, the way his lips curled at particular words of the song.

There was something so... _haunting_ about him. Not in a bad way, at least not to Hyunjin. The mystery surrounding him made Hyunjin all the more intrigued, watching as he lost himself to the music. It was like nothing Hyunjin had ever seen before.

Sometime later, Jisung found Hyunjin again, neck littered in love bites and his signature stupid smile on his face. "We can go now." he told him, barely looking behind him to see if Hyunjin was following. Said boy spared the stage a last glance, the band's set having ended just a short while ago. It felt weird to see them dismantling everything without him, but he supposed it was only natural. He hadn't meant to help to begin with, so he can't blame them for working without him.

Jisung took him home and Hyunjin spent a few more hours on literature homework before sinking into bed, tired beyond belief.

The following Monday was again no different than any other day. At least, until lunch. Hyunjin was lingering by the west hall, knowing Seungmin would flip if he wasn't waiting for him to go get lunch together. He was taking longer than usual, though, and Hyunjin was so starved. He considered going ahead and shooting the boy a text when he saved them a spot in line. As he started typing, a shadow loomed over him and he prepared to yell at his best friend when he noticed not Seungmin, but _San_ in front of him.

"Hi!" he greeted, more than enthusiastic for an early afternoon.

"Hi," Hyunjin copied lamely, because he wasn't sure why San was seeking him out. "Am I in your way?" It didn't seem plausible considering the brick wall behind him, but there was always the possibility.

"Nope, I was looking for you actually."

"Oh." San put an arm around his shoulder, leading him away from his post and making Hyunjin panic because Seungmin would surely be mad. Except he couldn't voice any of it. San intimidated him.

He led him all the way down the hall, through a set of double doors, before plopping him in a seat. Hyunjin noticed they weren't the only two there. Yunho was sitting in one of the desks, friendly smile on his face as he met Hyunjin's eye. Wooyoung got up when he saw them walk in, fleeting over to San's side and sitting with him on a dusty couch. Changbin wasn't near them, sitting the farthest way atop a desk, looking too much like an anime character. "We'd like to ask you something." San finally said, after a rather awkward stretch of time where Hyunjin couldn't figure out what to do with himself.

"Okay?"

"You helped us a lot yesterday." Yunho prompted, leaning forward on the desk. "Those wires are always such a nightmare." San was nodding and Hyunjin was starting to wonder what looney bit these boys came from to drag him away just to thank him.

"San thinks you'd be good for us." Wooyoung commented, offhandedly, too busy fawning over San to actually look at Hyunjin. He sat dazed as San stood up, moving in far too quickly to be comfortable.

"You're exactly what our band needs!" he told him, smile so devilishly handsome, Hyunjin was almost worried he was in the face of the devil himself. 

"I am?"

"You are." Wooyoung tacked on, not sounding as happy about it as San was.

"But I'm not..." He's not really sure what he meant to say, all the adjectives he thought of too deprecating.

"You don't have to be." San inputted, which didn't make Hyunjin feel all that better. "Just keep being you."

"And that means what exactly?" Hyunjin was having a really hard time following along here. 

"You, Hwang Hyunjin have earned yourself a spot as Who Takes the Crown's lackey!"


	3. into a place, where thoughts can bloom

Ignoring the part where San knew his full name, Hyunjin couldn't be more surprised by their offer.

"They want you to be what?"

"A glorified pack mule." Seungmin supplied, rolling his eyes at Jisung's lack of knowledge. "Don't tell me you agreed." Seungmin gave him a very pointed look and Hyunjin giggled nervously.

"I mean— "

"Hyunjin!"

"They had a compelling argument!" And by compelling he meant Changbin piping up from his side of the room with, "You've got a knack for it, kid." It wasn't even really a compliment, but Hyunjin felt himself flushing at the words. They all seemed hopeful and Hyunjin didn't want to be the one to crush their dreams.

"Yeah, uh, okay."

"You're being swindled." Seungmin told him on their way home and honestly, Hyunjin had been done with the conversation at lunch, but leave it to Seungmin to anchor the ship that had already sailed.

"Can't you be happy for me? I could make myself stand out on my college applications." Seungmin stopped in place, incredulous.

"And say what? You were the man servant to an underground pop rock band. Forget it, that's not going to get you into any college." Seungmin walked ahead, Hyunjin having to jog after him.

"I can word it differently! And I mean, those college essays are always asking about experiences that change your life, this could be one of those times." Obviously, Hyunjin was romanticizing it, knowing well all he'd get out of this would be future back problems. But he couldn't stomache the idea that Seungmin might be mad at him over this. "Why are we even talking about college anyway? We're only sophomores." Seungmin snorted, stopping again, but this time with a smile. 

"You should already know what I'm going to say." Hyunjin breathed a little easier with those words. "Come on, Jisung is probably wondering where we are."

Being WTC's lackey didn't change much for Hyunjin, at least that first week. Sometimes, when he was walking through halls, San would wave at him, Wooyoung often trailing behind him with a scowl. Other times he'd see Yunho, their greeting a more simplistic head nod that otherwise went unnoticed. Changbin was the odd one out, having never run into him since that day he'd been offered the job. Hyunjin sulked minimally, wondering what he got up to on a day to day basis for them to have never crossed paths.

"I have a job for you!" San caught him just before he'd made it out of the school gates, Jisung waiting for him in the distance.

"Oh, like now?" San nodded, directing him back into the school before he could even manage a wave to his friend. He'd definitely have to text him later.

The room lacked Changbin and Wooyoung when San lead him through. "Where is everyone?" 

"Apparently, busy." San rolled his eyes. "But we're here and we needed some input!" San was pulling out a chair, telling Hyunjin to sit. On the computer screen in front him, there was a word document open. "Tell us honestly, what do you think of it?" Hyunjin had been told that if he had nothing nice to say, he should say nothing at all. But San was waiting for some kind of answer.

"Well— it's—"

"You don't have to lie. We can take it." Yunho told him, probably noticing the lack of coherency he had to formulate anything. Hyunjin stared at the screen longer.

"It's not great." He could see the moment San deflated. "I mean— it has potential, but it's..."

"Boring." Yunho supplied, not looking as invested as San, but knowing just what Hyunjin was thinking.

"Well, yeah." San came over to sit beside him, heaving a sigh worth a thousand words.

"We're not that great with this kind of stuff. We used to have this guy in the IT club help us, but ever since he's gotten in with Minho's crowd, he ignores us." he frowned and Hyunjin frowned with him, thinking back the arcade and the words Minho had used to describe them. They looked more pitiful than anything, Hyunjin still unsure what beef the Junior had to name call the group like that.

"Maybe I could help?" he offered, knowing he was just as clueless, but if he played his cards right, he might be able to lasso Seungmin in to helping him.

"Really?" San said, looking like he'd been given the most wonderful news, but all Hyunjin had done was offer some help.

"Sure. A friend of mine knows about this stuff. I'll talk to him." San looked ecstatic, jumping up to wrap his arms around Hyunjin.

"You're the best! I knew it would be worth it to have you work for us." Hyunjin chuckled, patting the singer's back to get him to ease up.

"Shouldn't I be getting paid if I'm working for you?" San dropped the hug, scandalized by such a notion.

"It's an honor we allow you in our presence. So many people would kill to be in your shoes." It didn't come out as condescending as Hyunjin thought it should, given what he now knew about them. The people who would probably kill to be where he was probably don't realize how ordinary these boys were. Looking at San right now, he looked like any other boy his age, maybe more refined(?) but hardly. He was smiling at Hyunjin like he'd had offered him the world, not a helping hand with his failed flyer situation.

Yunho was quietly tapping out a tune, most likely one of their own songs and if Hyunjin didn't know any better, he'd go as far as to call the boy shy. He smiled when their eyes met and Hyunjin couldn't fathom Minho's hatred, or the girls' infatuation with them.

"No."

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm not following in your footsteps! This is a _you_ thing. I am not going to get involved." Convincing Seungmin to help him was proving to be more difficult than Hyunjin anticipated.

"You don't really have to do anything! Other than teach me the magic of photoshop." Seungmin bawked, clearly annoyed with his friend's nonchalance.

"That's not an easy task. It's like asking me to teach you rocket science."

"Wouldn't that be harder?"

"It's be a walk in the park compared to this." Hyunjin whined, throwing his pillow at the boy in a fit. "Why can't you slap some WordArt on a page and call it a day?"

"That's not cool enough!" he cried, hoping for sympathy, but Seungmin was too preoccupied with history homework. "Please!! It's one favor! I'll do your homework for a week!" He was getting desperate at this point.

"Make it two and you have to study with me for the PSAT." Hyunjin could care less about some stupid practice test, he was just happy to have him on board.

With papers still hot from the printer, Hyunjin made his way to the room San was always dragging him into, finding it with much less difficulty than he expected. He knocked once to warn them he was coming in before pushing open the door with a flourish. His shoulders fell when he saw the room empty and he wondered where they all were. 

San had told him to meet them there after school and he'd been in rush as soon as the bell rang, having to run off to the library to print off a stack of his finished work—which he had Seungmin to thank for. He'd jogged his way over in hopes that he wouldn't get scolded, but it looked like that was a worry he shouldn't even have had.

He placed the flyers on a desk, wondering where exactly the band could have wandered off to. Did they think he'd flaked? He knew he should have printed them before—

"What are you doing here?" A voice said and Hyunjin almost smacked his knee against the desk when he saw who had entered. "San said we weren't meeting today."

"Did he? He told me earlier to meet him here after school." Changbin sighed, clearly exasperated by his bandmate.

"San can be very... forgetful. Depending on the company." Changbin grimaced, "That's probably why he canceled today." He lifted his phone to show Hyunjin. "He sent a text, but I'm guessing you don't have his number." Hyunjin shook his head. "Figured as much." Changbin seemed unbothered by the affair, dropping his bag on a chair before heading to the whiteboard.

Hyunjin watched him for a while, as he wrote down words, a mess to his eyes, but it seemed like organized chaos for the other. "Don't let me hold you. You can leave if you want." Hyunjin didn't want to, though.

"Why are you here, then?" He hoped continuing the conversation meant a few more minutes in Changbin's presence. The guitarist didn't even bat an eye, continuing his ministrations even as he spoke.

"I like to work on lyrics sometimes. I get more inspired when I spread it out like this." The board looked like a mind map of his thoughts and Hyunjin could only imagine how much more he still hadn't written. "I used to keep a journal, but I kept losing it."

"So how do you remember later?" Hyunjin asked, knowing Changbin couldn't very well just leave his writing up like that.

"Easy." He brandished his phone, snapping a photo with practiced ease. "Work smarter, not harder." Hyunjin giggled, a little more than enamored by the boy's humor. He went back to writing, ignoring Hyunjin and he couldn't say he minded. Not when he got a glimpse of stardom in the making. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> talk to me on [ twitter ](https://twittter.com/sungshinelog)
> 
> or my [ cc ](https://curiouscat.qa/sungshinelog)


End file.
